Football: L-W East Defense Shows No Mercy for Knight Quarterbacks

Breaking It Down: A good portion of Lincoln-Way East fans were able to leave the frigid, metal bleachers at halftime of Friday night's contest feeling confident about how the rest of the game would go, as Tom Fuessel was able to help build a comfortable 24-0 lead over Lincoln-Way Central. Fuessel frustrated the Lincoln-Way Central defense gaining over 300 yards combined through the air and ground, until he and the majority of the Griffin starters were pulled mid-way through the third quarter.

Lincoln-Way Central's defensive line was able to sack Fuessel four times, yet was worn down quickly by trying to chase the quarterback down on his scrambling attempts.

If not for Lincoln-Way East having over double the amount of penalties that the Knights had, the score could have been worse than the 36-6 final.

Patch’s MVP: Lincoln-Way East's defense. After forcing the Knights to switch quarterbacks towards the end of the second quarter, Lincoln-Way East only made matters worse for replacement Jeremy Wilson. The backup quarterback connected on 1-of-12 passes, while completing more passes to Griffin defenders by throwing two interceptions. Lincoln-Way East forced five turnovers, and did not let up a point until there was less than two minutes remaining in regulation.

Lincoln-Way East Stat Pack: Tom Fuessel completed 8-of-12 passes for 126 yards, and rushed for 175 yards on 18 carries, including two touchdown runs. Nick Colangelo rushed for 31 yards on 5 carries, and caught one pass for 63 yards. Justin Corbett caught two passes for 36 yards. Kevin Duffin rushed for 62 yards on 6 carries, and found the end zone once. Adam O'Grady recorded a sack. Alex Straka returned an interception 17 yards. Anthony Sciarini made his lone field goal attempt of 27 yards. Jarret Lecas caught an interception in the third quarter. Mitch Kehoe recorded a sack.

Lincoln-Way Central Stat Pack: Cale Hayes completed 3-of-6 passes for 21 yards. Evan Panfil recorded two sacks. Sean Studer rushed for 99 yards on 12 carries. Matt Schneider sacked Fuessel once. Stephen Beck rushed for 32 yards on 13 carries.

Quotable I: “[This win] does mean more to us, because we get that Dave McKay [Gridiron Grail]," said Tom Fuessel of the trophy that is named after one of the players from . "We always want to keep that trophy in our case, because it belongs here with us.”

Quotable II: “We're not drawn on the past, and we're looking forward to the future," said Lincoln-Way East coach Rob Zvonar of how the Griffins compare to last season's 7-0 team. "Nobody is talking about anything down the road.”

Team Records: Lincoln-Way East is 7-0 and 5-0 in the Southwest Suburban Blue. Lincoln-Way Central is 3-4 and 2-4 in the Southwest Suburban Blue.

What’s Next: Lincoln-Way Central moves on to face Bolingbrook High School on Oct. 12 at 7:30 p.m. Lincoln-Way East plays at Joliet High School on Sat., Oct. 13. 

Scores of Interest: Sandburg 13, Bolingbrook 6. Lincoln-Way West 39, Stagg 16. Joliet West 28, Lockport 7. For more scores, go to IHSAScoreZone.